Bio

Laurén Magda is an American, multidisciplinary artist based in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She has a concentration in freehand hard-edged painting.  

The key themes Laurén explores are those of the transcendental, spiritual and visionary realms. Her paintings are boldly colorful, line work heavy and convey a sense of wonder and tranquility. She is inspired by both the calm and empowerment that comes from healing generational trauma, as well as her spiritual belief system in the mystical workings of the Universe.  

Laurén pursued art making as a profession by attending Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, earning her BFA in Illustration in 2011. She has over a decade of professional graphic design and commercial art experience. After taking a hiatus from pursuing her personal work post art school to commit to a healing journey, she re-established her focus in 2018 and has been creating collections for both personal and gallery representation.  

Statement

My art aims to organically uncover mystical messages direct from Source energy while I am suspended in creative flow.

These visual messages came forth as a result of deep contemplation on my individual soul and purpose. Previously under the ego-enforced pressures of societal systems and institutions, my artwork made a radical shift in 2019 from illustrative semi-realism to transcendental non-objective.  

My bold, saturated landscapes are the distillation of behemoth concepts, brought into the physical plane through the intuitive process of going within. The inner realm vs the outer (where I used to find superficial inspiration) is what fuels my current body of work.  

The flat, hard-edged painting technique I employ brings with it a healing quality, both in the process and in the viewership. This is by soulful design, as I vulnerably process and share parts of my lifelong trauma healing journey.  

I am deeply invested in the notion of healing, as well as the world of the unknown, which are the two major concepts juxtaposed in my work.  
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www.laurenmagda.com

When did your interest in art begin vs. when you began thinking of it as a career/life choice?

I don't remember a time when I wasn't interested in making art, or identifying as an artist. I attribute much of this headstrong attitude towards pursuing art as both a passion and as a career to my dad being an artist. He had a fully stocked art studio with colorful art supplies that seemed like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory to a creative kid. I dabbled in everything from pastels to gouache to oil paints as a young child. As I grew, I had the privilege of knowing that art school was a viable choice to pursue a career. So, I attended Detroit's College for Creative Studies and got my degree in illustration in 2011.  
What draws you to your particular subject matter?

In its essence, my art is the juxtaposition of empowerment from healing human conditioning and/or trauma, and the mystical workings of the Universe. It took me a decade of unlearning institutional and generational conditioning to find my authentic creative voice after graduating from art school. Somewhere in grade school, onlookers would comment on my realistic animal drawings with praise. I naturally enjoyed this praise and had a very hard time extricating myself from making art for others instead of for myself. From then on, my creative process felt more like struggle than passion. It wasn't until 2018 that I allowed myself to do a deep dive to identify my blocks. That's when I remembered how freeing it was to doodle and play, as I did when I was growing up. What started with doodles on post-it notes organically evolved into the symmetrical, semi-abstract work that I do now. One of my biggest blocks in my art and life was being the black sheep of a family unwilling to make changes to evolve and heal their own generational traumas. In an effort to overcome and heal from this, my art started to reflect the same themes. My art is intuitive -- It's channeled from the higher dimensions, similarly to how artist Hilma af Klint worked. Some of my pieces even come straight from visions I have in meditation. However, I have recently identified that the religious symbolism in a lot of my art (halos, crosses, stars, etc.) is perhaps subconsciously pulled from my childhood in the Orthodox church, where I spent many mornings studying the beautiful, hand painted murals on the cathedral's walls and ceilings.  

What interest of yours (outside of art) ends up influencing your practice the most?

I'd say that exploring my spirituality is a big influence on my artwork at this point in my career. Contemplating the greater unknown and how I can translate that visually is very inspiring to me, especially in the context of sharing healing messages with others.  
What is one piece of advice you wish you could give your younger self?

Oh Lord, I wish I could tell myself to trust my intuition and not care so much about what others thought. But I don't believe it would have changed much, if anything, because I think we're supposed to grow through challenges in life. Challenges are a part of our natural evolution as souls and so, I honestly wouldn't change a thing.  
What would you say is your biggest goal for this year?

I have really big goals for 2023 after being a self-employed creative for the last year+. But my biggest goal would be to gain exposure so that my message and vision can touch the people who need it. And this interview is part of that goal!